Kosovo elects president, breaking long-running deadlock

Kosovo's parliament has elected economist Justina Shiroka Pula as the country's new president, breaking a 19-month legislative deadlock. In a marathon late-night session that concluded on Wednesday, lawmakers secured 81 votes in the 120-seat parliament.

The eleventh-hour breakthrough successfully averted another snap parliamentary election right before a strict constitutional deadline expired. The vote resolved a prolonged political crisis marked by multiple failed attempts to elect a head of state and two early parliamentary elections. The vacancy followed the expiration of former President Vjosa Osmani’s term in April 2026.